Guatemala: Never Again!!!

It's easy -especially for my generation and the younger ones- to forget, or rather ignore, what the internal conflict that held Guatemala back for over 36 years was. It is easy to take "peace" for granted and think of Guatemala as nothing but a third-world country, ruled by violence, poverty, inequity and injustice.

I do, sometimes. I allow myself to become overwhelmed by what I see everyday as I step outside the door, and I forget I am living in a young democracy that has a long (long, long) way to go, but that has already walked a while.

I am not saying, by any means, that Guatemala's current situation is acceptable at all. New challenges arise day by day, and there's a lot of work to do, starting by changing ourselves, Guatemalans, our sense of responsibility and our self awareness of power.

10 years ago, Monseñor Gerardi was killed. He was killed because he dared to defy our country's reality and decided to change it. He broke the silence and helped other Guatemalans to do it also. Guatemala: Nunca Mas (Guatemala: Never Again) was the product of a lot of a lot of work and courage. It was released on April 24th, 1998 and Monseñor Gerardi was found killed at his home two days later.

He died, but his work lives. His faith in the power of truth has liberated us and allowed our country to move on. We must forgive, not forget. Never forget.